Woman held for stealing gold jewellery of passengers at bus stands

Latur, Mar 5 (PTI) Police have arrested a woman in Maharashtra's Latur for allegedly stealing gold ornaments at bus stands in the district, officials said on Thursday.

The crime branch of the local police, which nabbed her, also recovered some stolen gold jewellery from her.

The action has led to the detection of several theft cases reported from bus stands in Ausa, Shirur Tajband and Ahmedpur, a police official said.

The accused used to target women passengers by taking advantage of the rush while boarding buses, he said.

Acting on specific information, the crime branch team intensified surveillance. On March 4, the police received a tip-off that two women were moving suspiciously near passengers boarding buses near the new bus stand at Renapur Naka in Latur. After verifying the information, the team rushed to the spot and laid a trap, he said.

During the operation, one woman, identified as Poonam Jitu Kamble (34), was nabbed. A search conducted by a woman police constable led to the recovery of a gold mangalsutra and a gold chain weighing around 13.390 grams, collectively valued at Rs 78,951, the official said.

During her interrogation, Kamble confessed that she and another woman had been stealing gold ornaments from women passengers at bus stands over the past several months, he added. PTI COR NP